More than a week ago Your Mama received a customarily brief covert communique from the often eerily well-informed Yolanda Yakketyak who whispered to Your Mama that the good word on the high end real estate gossip grapevine was that H. Ross Perot, Jr. had spent $18 million for Mi Patria, a walled, gated and expensively maintained and upgraded Spanish hacienda with a history of high profile ownersin L.A.'s hoity toity Bel Air community.

Property records show Mi Patria was most recently sold by Freddy De Mann, a near mythic film and theater producer, music executive and co-founder of Maverick Records. In his heyday he managed a coupla superstars like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lionel Richie and Billy Idol during their professional salad days. Mister De Mann is, well, Da Man, you know? Anyways, property records show Mister and Missus De Mann acquired the Bel Air mini-estate in October 2001 for $6,500,000 from the Nancy Daly, an important philanthropist and prominent social fixture in Los Angeles (and beyond) who passed in 2009.

Property records show the mini-estate was most recently acquired for exactly $18 million through an opaquely named corporate entity that links directly back to the Plano, TX offices of Perot Systems, the very company Perot Senior sold to Dell but where Perot Junior still holds the title of Chairman of the Board. It might be ignorant to say it out loud but we don't even really know what a Chairman of the Board does. But that's really not the point, is it? Anyhoo, altogether three well connected canaries have chirped to Your Mama that Mister Perot, Jr. and his wife, Sarah, are the new keepers of the elegant Mi Patria estate. Make of that "evidence" what you will. Okay?

Listing details Your Mama dug up on the internets show the foliage enshrouded, multi-winged Spanish hacienda was originally built in 1929 and stretches out to (approx.) 10,000 square feet with five bedrooms and 8 bathrooms.* The house has been extensively restored in such a way that retained much the original architectural integrity, or at least the architectural spirit of the home. The entire property has been updated and upgraded to "exacting standards," according to listing details, and with all the modern conveniences and luxuries one really ought to be able to expect in an $18 million house in Bel Air.

A glamorously long driveway curls up to the front of the house between two gated and secured automotive entrance points. Interior spaces include a stone-walled double-height foyer, party sized public rooms, a large library that converts to a 35mm screening room, and an open concept eat-in kitchen outfitted with a raised fireplace and a marble-topped center work island/snack bar that's as big as a damn boxcar. Online marketing materials show upper level master bedroom has a fireplace, plenty of room for a separate sitting area, dual bathrooms for maintaining marital and olfactory harmony and at least one walk-in closet "lined in rare woods." Fancy!

Lower level living spaces open to a large loggia and sunny, foliage enshrouded central terrace of magical, plaza-like proportion.** Beyond the central terrace, past a swathe of lawn, an entirely mosaic tiled dark-bottom swimming pool stretches out in front of a gently curved open-air cabana and lounge with outdoor fireplace. Your Mama would be shocked—shocked, we tell you—to discover there is not at least one changing room/bathroom tucked somewhere up or around that poolside pavilion. Anyways, more lawn slopes down to a secluded putting green and somewhere on the property is a gym with Zen meditation garden. A second gated driveway at the rear of the .89 acre spread provides a second secure motor court and access to what may (or may not) be a detached garage with what appears to be (but may not be) additional living space above.

According to property records and various other online resources the neighborhood is littered with rich and sometimes high profile people who surely have the manners to send a housewarming gift to their new neighbors. Perhaps the Bryan Schers will send flowers from their own garden and an invitation for a TDB cocktail party, or whatever. Maybe Mister and Missus Sugar—he's the head honcho at Northrop Grumman—will consider having an embarrassingly large and ludicrously expensive box of chocolates from Fauchon in Paris sent by over-night courier. That would be really nice to receive if you were moving in, wouldn't it? And former Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel would do fine to send his downstairs maid, Whatsername, over with a freshly baked apple pie Chef Tony whipped up by scratch.***

As in all the finest zip codes across the land—or at least in L.A.—as one or more very rich and/or high profile person moves in other big names decamp. We're certain those that chose to leave do so for reasons entirely unrelated to who move in, right? Television actress Deborah Messing recently sold her mini-compound on Bellagio Road for $14,400,000 to an as-yet unidentified buyer and in May 2011 actress wife Lori Loughlin and her Italian clothing mogul husband Mossimo Giannulli sold their nearly 1.5 acre Michael Smith decorated Bellagio Road estate for $16,600,000 to a corporate entity linked to Alexandra Dwek who seems to be some sort of princess or something. We don't know. But we digress...

*The L.A. County Tax Man shows the house has nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 8,908 square feet. Make of those discrepancies what you will since they're not entirely relevant to the discussion.**P.S.: The patchwork upholstered chairs on the loggia are furniture heaven as far as Your Mama is concerned.***Naturally, children, Your Mama has no idea if any of the named folk will or would even think to send a housewarming gift. Maybe they will maybe they won't. Who cares? But, certainly, if any one of them does opt to send something to be cordial and neighborly, it's highly unlikely they'll send any of the options we came up with. And, finally, Your Mama hasn't an iota if Terry Semel employs any kind of household staff of any kind, let alone a downstairs maid named Whatsername or a chef named Tony.listing photos: Hilton & Hyland

The property photographs beautifully as most home-selling photography does, but it's still a home on a wedge of ground at the busy crossroads of Bellagio and Copa. When you know where this house is, it ain't so grand - especially for $18M and regardless if in Bel Air. The home and grounds are finely tuned though. Just not interested in being outdoors with the seemingly never ending traffic at this wedge just over the wall.

Mama, do you write little reminders on the front of these casas so not to get them confused?

Nancy Daly. That real estate snaffu on her Malibu place. We all got spankings from her. Back to topic, opps, but...a chairman of the board, Mama, hovers 90 years old, does basically nothing except show up for a few hours a month, lend their big name to impress companies share holders, and collect exorbitant compensation.

OK, for real this time. I do like everything about this place. From what can be seen, if interior echo exterior, it's a catch. I'm partial to this CA architecture,especially when it's so well done.

Fun TV item: Mr. Drysdale's house in THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES is situated across the street at a northwestern angle.

The best drinks and hors d'oeuvres can be expected in this section of status symbol land. Our Mama Dearest has exhaustingly profiled the Tudor-style Dean Martin / Tom Jones / Nicolas Cage house across the street.

Other current and former high fylers in the immediate neighborhood include Sid Caesar, Peter Ustinov, beautiful socialite Anne Ford Johnson (the gorgeous French-style estate with the elegant motor court), Michael Eisner, Brad Grey (in elegant colonial-style house built by Otis Booth's daughter on the site of Merle Oberon's house a few years ago), Otis Booth, producer Martin Manulis, football maven Georgia Frontiere, Paris' parents Rick and Kathy Hilton, Peter Bogdanovich, Bob Newhart, TOPA banker John Anderson, Otto Preminger, Alfred and Betsy Bloomingdale before moving to current Holmby Hills house in late 1950s, on and on...

I love it! The interiors are very classic and elegant and I die for the beautifully tiled pool. While watching Dukes of Melrose on Bravo a couple of weeks ago I thought I recognised this house. It must have been deMann's wife (what a fabulous closet she has!)

A toast to the interior design firm on such lovely work throughout. I'm partial to the yellow draperied living room. Perfect space utilization with two floating conversations areas and appropriately scaled accent tables and occasional chairs perfectly positioned along the perimeter walls -- as it should be.

It's sold?! I was hoping to engage in bidding war. Oh pshaw.

Mama, so many listings snap rooms of this scale with a big screen TV over mantel and a couple of barcaloungers, leaving the rest of room unfurnished and suitable for shooting hoops.

I had to look several times before decided that the odd "coffering" may have been original to the house (given the gently curved ceiling coving), but perhaps detailed differently in the past. The stair-hall could stand some "retro-grading" as well -- too W Hotel for my tastes.

Love the curved cabana & its relation to the pool -- that is perfection.

My totally unsupported guess is that the curiously flat coffers were originally natural wood, most likely dark, which was very popular on ceilings in the 1920's-1930's. The ceilings don't seem especially high, so I'm guessing the coffers were flattened to avoid making the ceilings even lower. To finish my wild speculation: Somebody perhaps painted them because dark wood on a big, low ceiling is not a popular effect. Personally, I would suggest stripping them back to natural wood (or replacing them with look-alike but gorgeous natural wood) and keeping them clean and luminously and beautifully oiled. There's no point in living in a grand, hugely expensive character house if you're going mano-a-mano with some of its basic design features every day.

rosco mare left out my fav resident of this block;the young (23) woman(!),(back when women had only been allowed to vote for a few years )who broke into the truly "old mens club" of the LA city counciland convinced walter o'malley to change course from minneapolis and take his dodgers (and drag the giants along)to LA, making it a "major league" city.(the o'malleys later gave to roz wyman walter o'malleys master key to dodger stadium in gratitude.)e